RAB busts gang impersonating army officers to scam job seekers
During the operation, RAB also confiscated a car, seven mobile phones, two fake appointment letters and cash.
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested six members of a fraud ring who posed as army officers, introducing themselves as majors and colonels, to obtain money from desperate job seekers by promising recruitment in the army and Ansar.
RAB-4 tracked the suspects using digital surveillance and arrested Sohel Rana alias Milon, 33, Tayeb alias Mostak, 46, Md Sajib Munshi, 44, Shamim Ahmed, 45, Md Maulad Ali Khan, 52, and Sohel Rana alias Jinnah, 37, in raids in Dhaka and Savar early today (23 September).
During the operation, RAB confiscated a car, seven mobile phones, two fake appointment letters and cash, according to RAB-4 Company Commander Shahabuddin Kabir.
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A victim was also rescued on the spot, whom the gang had lured with promises of a job in the army.
Shahabuddin said the group has been masquerading as senior army officers to deceive job seekers. "They already have multiple cases filed against them at different police stations and were previously arrested twice for similar fraud."
The suspects will be turned over to the police station concerned for further legal action, he added.
How they conned people
On 14 September, after a job applicant was dropped during the preliminary selection process due to physical issues during a recruitment test at the Safipur Ansar and VDP Academy, an unidentified caller phoned the applicant's elder brother, Sohel Rana, and informed him that his brother had been disqualified on medical grounds, according to RAB officials.
When Sohel asked for his identity, the caller introduced himself as Major Sohel Rana alias Milon and requested a meeting.
Later, Sohel met Milon at a hotel under the jurisdiction of Shah Ali Police Station in Dhaka, where Milon presented another man, Tayebur Rahman, as a colonel.
They assured Sohel that his younger brother could still secure a sepoy post in Ansar, claiming they had connections with senior authorities.
In exchange, they demanded Tk12 lakh.
On 15 September, Sohel initially paid Tk4 lakh through a bank account.
After receiving the money, Milon, Tayebur and their associates handed him an appointment letter, purportedly confirming his brother's recruitment. Later, they extorted an additional Tk1 lakh via mobile financial services.
However, upon returning home, Sohel compared the letter with another genuine Ansar appointment and discovered glaring discrepancies. Further inquiries confirmed the document was fake.
Sohel then lodged complaints with Shah Ali police and RAB-4.
Then RAB-4 tracked down the suspects and arrested six individuals today.
